


The Clockwork Frog

by SarahHBE



Series: Cap-IM 2018 Bingos [5]
Category: Iron Man (Comics), Iron Man Noir, Marvel Noir
Genre: M/M, Magic, Pre-Serum Steve Rogers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-16
Updated: 2018-03-16
Packaged: 2019-04-01 07:54:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,115
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13993869
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SarahHBE/pseuds/SarahHBE
Summary: After another alley fight, Steve find a clockwork frog among the trash.  After he takes it home he finds out it can talk!





	The Clockwork Frog

**Author's Note:**

> Something for the prompts Canon:Marvel Noir on my Cam/IM Bingo card and The Frog Prince on my Cap/IM Fairy Tale bingo card.
> 
> Thank you to enki for reviewing this and firelightmystic for beta'ing this for me!!

Steve landed hard among the trash cans.  The metal cans crashed together loudly, but not loud enough to drown out the sound of the two men laughing as they left him in the alley.  One of the cans had tipped over and Steve had to push it away, slapping the garbage that had landed on the one good pair of slacks he had. Frustrated, he got up and gingerly probed at his nose, lips, and cheek.  Nothing felt broken but his fingers came away red with blood. He was honest enough to know he’s lucky a busted lip and bloody nose was all he got from that fight. With one last dusting-off of his clothes he took a step towards the mouth of the alley.  His foot landed on something hard that gave out a strange croak and Steve jumped back in shock, afraid he’d stepped on an injured animal. 

Steve’s brows drew together in confusion as he looked down at the ground.  It certainly was animal shaped, a frog by the look of it, but it wasn’t alive.  Curiously, it was made of a burnished gold metal and clearly had cogs and machinery.  It was beautifully crafted and Steve found himself picking it up to turn it this way and that.  The frog was no bigger than his fist and had a small key to wind on its back. He found there was something blue glowing from inside the machine and the frog had bright blue stones for eyes.  Steve tucked the frog into the pocket of his jacket and headed home. He figured it might be worth something, but for now he wanted to sketch it a bit.

Once at home, he set the frog on the small table he ate his meals at before heading into the small bathroom, his shedding his clothes as he went.  He’d wash them in the sink and hang them up to get the grime and smell out of them. Leaving the clothes to soak, he wandered back to the frog in his undershirt and shorts.  He picked it up so he could try and see where the glowing blue light was coming from. Curiosity got the better of him and he turned the key on the frog’s back, winding the small machine up.  Once he could wind it no more he set it down and let go.

Nothing happened.

The  _ click, click, click _ of the mechanics working was the only sound for several seconds and then the frog blinked, looked up at Steve, and  _ spoke _ .

“Oh, thank God. Listen buddy, magic happened and I’m a person so I need you-” The key stopped as the winding ran out.

Steve blinked hard several times and wondered if he’d hit his head harder than he thought.  But the voice had been strong and he could almost feel it echoing in the silence of the room.  Magic was possible, though the closest Steve had ever gotten to it was when that wizard at the corner store tried to make it rain and all the fire hydrants on the street exploded.  Objectively, Steve knew there were decent and in some cases, powerful, wizards so it wasn’t impossible this frog was actually a person. He decided he’d better check again. Steve wound up the frog again and set it down quickly.  This time it looked around and turned towards him when it spotted him.

“An asshole named Stephen turned me into a frog and-“

“Hey, my name is Steven!” He was rather indignant, but suddenly realized his outburst had used up the rest of this winding.  Seriously, if the wizard was able to turn a person into a mechanical frog, shouldn’t they be able to make the winding last longer?  He rewound the frog and set it down, taking a seat opposite it in one of his rickety chairs.

“Rude, Steven!  I’m on a time limit, you’ve got to kiss me.”

“I’m sorry, what?”  There was no response, of course. He had to rewind the darn thing.

“Kiss me. Kiss me. Kiss me.” The frog chanted.

“Fine.”  Steve rolled his eyes before getting up and moving away.

“Hey, where ar-“ The winding ran out but Steve got the gist.

“I’m not kissin’ you until I clean you off.”  Putting words to action he grabbed the dish cloth and then the frog and wiped it down as best he could.  He didn’t want to get it too wet. Magic or no, he had no idea how water would affect the mechanics.

Satisfied, Steve tossed the rag into the sink and then peered at the frog, eye to eye.  The blue gemstones shone brightly and he decided to heck with it and kissed the frog on the end of nose.  The clicking noise returned along with the screech of metal against metal. Steve jerked his face back and watched in horror as the frog unfolded, growing impossibly larger and larger.  The weight of it forced him to drop it and the ever-growing machine hit the ground with a thud. Downstairs, Mr. Helbig started using his broom to bang on his ceiling. The screeching got louder and the oppressive clicking forced Steve to cover his ears with his hands.

As suddenly as the sound began, it stopped.  Steve gazed up in astonishment at the metal machine that now stood in front of him.  It was clearly man-shaped and the top of the head was brushing his ceiling. Steve nearly fainted when the front of the machine opened. A man stepped out of the machine, grabbed Steve’s face between his hands, and gave him a hard, highly inappropriate kiss.  Steve was now absolutely convinced he’d hit his head hard enough that this was all a figment of his very creative imagination. When the man stepped back and Steve recognized him as Tony Stark – TONY STARK of Marvels – he knew it was a delusion. He really should stop fantasizing about the man.

“Thank you so much, Steven!  You are ten-times, no, a hundred-times, the man that irritating wizard is!”  Tony kissed him again and Steve felt a little dazed.

“Steve, just Steve.” He muttered and Tony joviality nodded his head.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Steve.”  Tony gave him a dazzling smile and Steve had the unpleasant feeling he was drooling.  “Tony Stark, at your service! Since you gave me a good turn, you deserve one back. Anything you need, darling, just give me a ring.”  Tony searched around and finally spotted a wayward pen and scribbled a series of numbers down on a scrap piece of paper.

As Steve automatically took the paper thrust at him Tony winked, “I’ll be eagerly awaiting your call.”

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you all enjoyed it!!
> 
> find me on tumblr if you like sarahhbe


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